Nah

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Immerse your soul in love

-Radiohead

Given the happenings in Washington this week, its hard to even find a place to begin talking about the fuckery that political happenings have slowly become. Washington attracts some of the smartest, well schooled gents in the nation to its marble hallows, with the promise and influence of power and do gooding. Yet watching the political meddlings unfold in Washington this week and the reactions of everyone across the nation has revealed a host of ugly truths about human nature and the futility of today's political spectrum. I can't even stretch out in the sun between classes without catching a facefull of hot air from some good ole boy walking past, talking his stout and blonde girlfriend's ear off about  "fascism and the goddam healthcare disaster" like it personally walked up to him, pulled his pants down, and bit him on the arm only moments ago. She can hardly keep stride, much less understand anything about Obama, fascism, or legislation. At most, in keeping the pace, she can feign attention like girls like always do when boys (this one's since middle school, true love) get all riled up from rolling on a tear like politics. To the dumpy blonde, politics is like bridge, a game played by old people. To her man in Deere with the white shades on, bless his heart, politics is simply a chance to get off by getting on other people, which not only speaks true of the farm class heros here in Bowling Green but also the gentlemen in Washington as well. Strange, but true and unfortunate. No matter the degree of academic merit achieved, all hints of diplomacy, manners, and class get shot all to pieces when guns are draw in formal discussion and mutuality of proper debate fades into a big mangle of emotionally tasteless flamethrowing. I played in a dodgeball tournament a few weekends ago and in between games, I watched an exchange where a guy threw a ball that missed another guy just barely, yet the thrower was dead sure it hit him and wasn't hearing otherwise. They duked it out while throwing and dodging, which was a pretty remarkable exchange to witness. "Yer out!" Dodge, duck, chase, throw, all while hollering "No way dude I'm not out that didn't hit me." "Yeah it hit your FUCKING shirt!" "Nah man, it didn't hit my shirt" "YEAH well, FUCK YOU BRO YOU WANNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE". It was like reading the comments under videos on Youtube, arguments that go from "I just don't like this" to "Go die now FAG" in no time at all. 

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What can be gained? Education obviously does not lead to transformation. Some of the most stubborn people I know are almost too educated. Knowledge doesn't simply bless one with the wisdom of contemplation and the ability to see different perspectives but rather gives people better reasons to justify dualistic rationality, as seem clearly in Washington's blowhards. But what's even more evident in the seeing both the right wing's mean spirited finger pointing and the liberal snootiness at work is evidence of human nature's biggest delusion; the need for control. Human nature will always have the need to play the victim or create one, because control hates change. And just because healthcare gets passed doesn't grant Tea Partiers a green light for bigotry or for liberals, a chance to fan the flames of discontentment.